


the icarus to your certainty

by papercr0wns



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, blatant overuse of pet names (as is my modus operandi), lowkey that's all this fic is actually, the jupeter love language is bullying, they're just. they're soulmates your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28826655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papercr0wns/pseuds/papercr0wns
Summary: Gently, Peter reached out to run his thumb across the hard line of Juno’s jaw, cupping his cheek slightly. Juno stirred a bit, huffing a small, sleepy sound, and Peter stilled until he’d settled back into his pillow with a contented sigh.Peter realized, acutely, that while this might not have been what he’d imagined when he’d initially offered to whisk Juno away on a tour across the stars (which, in hindsight, never would have been feasible as he proposed it), but it had been what he’d wanted. That didn’t mean, however, that he knew what to do with it. Or that it didn’t terrify him.More than that, though, the thought of having more moments like this only cemented just how badly he wanted to stay.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 31
Kudos: 110





	the icarus to your certainty

**Author's Note:**

> usually there is at least a little hurt/angst in my work but today i woke up and chose impossible tenderness so here you go gays <3
> 
> no TWs apply it is literally just fluff i'm not kidding
> 
> title from 'sunlight' by hozier (also yes i'm aware that that song is not a love song TECHNICALLY but i don't care because it is TO ME and i will die on that hill if andrew hozier-byrne has to kill me himself)

The first time Peter shared a bed with Juno after Hyperion, he realized two things: first, that he slept significantly better with Juno next to him than he did alone, and second, that while he’d fallen asleep next to Juno, he’d never actually _woken up_ next to him before. 

Logic suggested that those two things wouldn’t really be so different, but, as Peter immediately realized upon waking up with Juno curled up in his arms, they _were_. 

Falling asleep next to Juno had been wonderful, obviously; listening to his breaths slowly deepen and even out as his hand slackened where it had been rubbing gentle circles against the small of Peter’s back- all of it had been wonderful. Perfect, really. 

But still, it was incomparable to the way Peter’s heart skipped as he woke up to the two of them tangled together beneath the sheets, blinking awake to Juno’s face, still relaxed with sleep, mere inches from his own, painted gold with the light from the Carte Blanche’s simulated sunrise. 

This close, Peter could make out every detail of his face- the dark fan of his long lashes as they fluttered lightly on his cheeks, the slightly off tilt of his nose and the hairline scar on his bottom lip that Peter could only sometimes feel when they kissed. If Peter were to kiss him then, he knew Juno’s slightly parted lips would be warm and soft and just the right kind of chapped. 

To call him beautiful would be a gross understatement. No, the way he looked now combined with the gentle warmth of his arm hung lax across Peter’s waist and their legs tangled together made Peter understand why Juno had been named for a goddess. Every bit of his presence felt like sanctification. 

Gently, Peter reached out to run his thumb across the hard line of Juno’s jaw, cupping his cheek slightly. Juno stirred a bit, huffing a small, sleepy sound, and Peter stilled until he’d settled back into his pillow with a contented sigh. 

Peter realized, acutely, that while this might not have been what he’d imagined when he’d initially offered to whisk Juno away on a tour across the stars (which, in hindsight, never would have been feasible as he proposed it), but it had been what he’d _wanted_. That didn’t mean, however, that he knew what to do with it. Or that it didn’t terrify him. 

More than that, though, the thought of having more moments like this only cemented just how badly he wanted to _stay_.

Juno shifted again, eyes flickering open to slits for a moment before he turned his face into Peter’s hand, lightly kissing his palm, the shape of a half-smile evident in the tilt of his lips. Bemused, Peter wondered if it was possible for someone to get luckier than he had when Juno had come stumbling back into his life, offering his forgiveness and his heart, unsure and patched together as it was. He decided it probably wasn’t.

“Good morning, dearest,” Peter said, practically whispering, as he looped his free arm around Juno’s waist, stroking a hand along the sleep-warm skin of his back. 

“Mornin’,” Juno slurred into his palm, still half-asleep. Peter huffed a quiet laugh.

“You _can_ go back to sleep, you know. We don’t have anywhere to be.” 

“Nah, m’alright,” Juno yawned, “just gonna… lay here, I think.” Juno cuddled closer, tucking his face into Peter’s collarbone. Absentmindedly, Peter reached up to thread a hand through Juno’s curls, slightly frizzy from where he’d slept on them. It almost felt like a reflex, like something he’d been doing for years and would continue to do indefinitely. 

And maybe he _would_. An indefinite future with Juno Steel- the kind he’d spent nearly a year wishing he hadn’t lost- was no longer an impossibility. Peter couldn’t say if the reality of that had really hit him yet, or that it ever would, but the thought made his head spin nonetheless. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Juno asked, lips brushing against Peter’s neck as he spoke. Once, Juno’s ability to read Peter so completely had been something that scared him, almost to the point of defensive anger. It still scared him a bit now, but much less so. It was almost welcome.

“Nothing you need to worry about, darling.”

“Mm,” Juno breathed, stretching up to press a gentle kiss to Peter’s jaw, “Good things?”

“Good things,” Peter assured, and Juno settled back into his chest. A moment passed before Juno pulled away a bit, just enough to look Peter in the eye.

“This is still okay, right?” Juno worried his bottom lip between his teeth, apprehensive. 

“Oh, more than,” Peter replied, eager to wipe that anxious look from Juno’s face, “It’s perfect, love. You’re perfect.”

Juno snorted and hid his face, now hot with blush, in Peter’s neck again. “Flatterer.”

“It’s only the truth.”

“Stop,” Juno huffed, a smile peeking through the irritability in his tone.

Peter faked offense, “What, am I not allowed to compliment my gorgeous ladylove? Is that such a crime?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Juno whined, petulant, “It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, well my apologies, my dear lady,” Peter said, sarcasm practically dripping from his tone, “I’ll keep my affections to myself, then. I wouldn’t want to _embarrass_ you.”

“You’re insufferable, you know that?” Peter smiled to himself as Juno pressed closer to his chest despite his words.

“You too, darling,” he replied, and, after a tense moment of the both of them struggling to keep it together, they dissolved into laughter. They quieted after a moment, Juno drawing delicate, abstract shapes on Peter’s chest. 

“Can I tell you something?” He asked, his tone so completely removed from his usual biting wit that it could almost be called shy. Peter nodded, chin bumping against Juno’s mussed hair.

“I think I love you,” Juno breathed, so quick the words had almost disappeared before he’d finished saying them. Peter knew that- _had_ known it- objectively, but hearing it from Juno, whispered with such a hesitant sort of reverence made his heart stall in his chest.

Shaking himself, Peter pushed Juno away from his chest just enough to meet his gaze, and kissed him once, lightly, reveling in the way Juno relaxed against him. When they parted, Peter leaned his forehead against Juno’s, wishing that he could convey the overwhelming amount of _everything_ that Juno always seemed to spark in him. _I love you too,_ he wanted to say, _I never stopped loving you._ Instead, he gave a shuddering exhale and tugged Juno closer.

“I think I love you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you sm for reading!! if you leave kudos/comments i will give you a little kiss on your forehead. also, feel free to come hang out with me on tumblr @gently-used-fairytale if you want! sometimes i make dumb little jokes at sasha wire's expense (as is my duty).
> 
> anyways i love you all so very much please drink water and take care of yourselves or i'll be very upset 
> 
> -ec <3


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